Canadian Amateur, Jane Rogers Are Underway

Graham Hill of Forest, Ont. fired a five-under-par 67 to take the opening round lead at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship in London, Ont.

Hill, who played his opening-round at the London Hunt and Country Club, carded eight birdies and three bogeys to take a single stroke lead into tomorrow’s second round.

The Canadian Amateur is Hill’s first competitive golf event in almost a year.

“I didn’t really know what to expect today because I haven’t played competitive golf for a while,” said Hill a former member of Team Canada and brother of Matt Hill. “I played well, made a couple of bogeys I’d like to have back, but I also left some birdies out there.”

Hill’s last competitive golf championship was the 2009 U.S. Amateur. He missed the cut, but considering he had mononucleosis, just playing that week was a victory.

The 24-year old has a golf resume that includes two appearances at the World Amateur, a third-place finish at the Mexican Amateur Championship and a semi-final appearance at the 2007 Canadian Amateur. He also won the 2005 Ontario Amateur Championship at Redtail Golf Course, where he’ll play on Friday.

“I know Redtail better than London Hunt,” added Hill. “The rough is pretty penal, so I’m going to try and keep it in the fairway. It’s still early, I’m not even thinking about whether or not I can win.”

A logjam of players trail Hill, including American Lion Kim of Ann Arbor, Mich., Jeffrey Clarridge of Barrie, Ont., Daniel Kim of Toronto and Marc-Étienne Bussières of Gatineau, Que.

The four players shot matching four-under par 68s.

With players at both golf courses, Redtail had a scoring average of 76.61, while London Hunt yielded a 75.9.

Coinciding with the stroke play championship is the Willingdon Cup Interprovincial Team Championship.

Team British Columbia takes a slim two-stroke lead into Friday’s final round of team play after combining for a team three under par.

British Columbia last won the Willingdon Cup in 2004, when the event was held at Beaconsfield Golf Club in Pointe Claire, Que.

Two strokes is Alberta, with the host Ontario team in third at one over.

Parr Guns For First Tour Win: Andrew Parr of London, Ont., took a step towards his first Canadian Tour triumph at the ClubLink Jane Rogers Championship on Thursday.

Parr opened with a six-under 65 at Greystone Golf Club near Milton, Ont., good for a one-shot edge on American Michael Jensen. Ryan Thornberry and Daniel McCarthy are two shots off the pace.

Champions Tour player Rod Spittle of Niagara Falls, Ont., who accepted a sponsor’s exemption, is tied for fifth, three shots back along with Colombia’s Eduardo Herrera, Tom Glissmeyer and Garrett Sapp.

Five others, including RBC Canadian Open fan favourite Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C, are four shots behind Parr.

Playing in the second group of the morning, Parr sank a 15-foot birdie putt on the opening hole. Making the turn at four under, Parr picked up two more strokes on his back nine with birdies on three of his last four holes to cap off an eight-birdie, two-bogey performance.

“Any time you make birdie on the first hole with a 7:40 tee time, you’ve got to be happy,” said Parr. “It was just a really solid day. Both times I got myself in trouble, I just chipped out and took my bogey.”

“It’s nice to get a good start. I haven’t been able to get out to a fast start the past couple of years. I’m usually fighting from behind.”

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